


Some Jingle Jangle Morning

by paperwar



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou
Genre: Multi, OT3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-04
Updated: 2012-03-04
Packaged: 2017-11-01 03:33:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/351513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperwar/pseuds/paperwar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kai's still got a little to learn about human relations, but he can recognize love when he sees it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Some Jingle Jangle Morning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Romana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Romana/gifts).



> With much gratitude to my betas, Phredd and drinktheair.
> 
> Romana, I loved your prompt and loved writing this -- I hope you enjoy it! ♥

Kai gets to the station just in time to see Natsume, Taki, and Tanuma tumble off the train, seconds before the doors shut and it hurries away. They're rubbing their eyes and blinking in the mid-morning light, craning their necks to find him. Natsume looks happy. But, Kai thinks, he doesn't look relaxed: there's an energy thrumming around him -- around all three of them, actually. 

That's all the introspection Kai has time for before he hurls himself at Natsume for a hug. Taki wraps her arms around Kai from the other side, and so Natsume and Taki are sort of hugging each other, too. Kai looks up and sees their eyes meet over his head; they flush and dart their gazes away. They're both hugging him, though, so Kai just burrows in closer.

He doesn't know Tanuma very well, so they just shuffle their feet and duck their heads at each other and say hello. 

"We brought lunch," Taki says. She and Tanuma lift a couple of bulging tote bags. "Tanuma made most of it." 

"No, that's not true." Tanuma shakes his head and steps a little closer to her. "You helped a lot." He brushes her hand and then jerks his hand away, like he's worried about what she'll do. But she only flashes him a smile; Kai feels warmed by seeing it light up her face.

Natsume raises a smaller, but still significant, bag of his own. "Touko wouldn't let me leave this morning without this. She said it was just a few things." He squirms. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to help last night."

"No, no," Taki says. "Something came up. We know." Tanuma waves a hand at Natsume in reassurance.

Natsume rubs at his face. "I had some visitors," he tells Kai. "For their names. I'm a little sleepy."

"Don't worry. It doesn't take long to get up the mountain." Kai grimaces. "It'll take longer on human feet. I could take you all there with me, though!" He means flying, of course. Towing all three of them along would be more weight than he's ever carried, but he's not worried. 

"We'll walk, Kai. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful morning." Natsume yawns. "And it might help me wake up." 

It's stupid that Natsume didn't just tell that fat cat to take them up there. Kai supposes there's some human reason for it. Still, what a waste of effort.

**

Kai hasn't spent much time in the village. In the past, the residents had streamed up his mountain to bring him things, and when they'd stopped, he'd been too proud and hurt to go and see them where they lived. It's only because the train station is such an obvious landmark that he'd so easily been able to find Natsume earlier.

This is the first time Kai's ever been on the main street. It's clustered with tiny shops; a bakery fills the air with scents Kai remembers from his time in Natsume's town. He sniffs the air. Maybe this isn't a bad route to take after all.

There's bread in huge fresh loaves and little round pastries with fruit. Kai wants everything until he realizes that he doesn't have any human money and that Natsume is intending to pay for whatever Kai gets. Natsume's already got his wallet out. He sees Kai ready to protest and puts a hand on his head. "This is our treat," he says. It feels significant somehow.

Once they've paid, they continue down the street. "Oh, I'm thirsty, too," Taki says, steering them towards the convenience store. 

Kai's delighted with the place. He'd been in one a couple of times with his human friends in Natsume's town but hadn't known there was another so close. The other three are quick in choosing bottles of juice, but Kai lingers, sniffing food in the refrigerator case ("Kai, please don't do that," Taki tells him), flipping through magazines ("Not those ones," Natsume says), and eyeing a whole shelf full of strange things he doesn't understand. "Humans use this?" he says, peering into a container he'd just opened; it says something about hair on it. "For what? And what are these?" He shakes a small box and squints at the label. Something about protection. 

"Never mind," and this time it's Tanuma, Taki and Natsume in chorus, steering him to the door.

They eat their bakery finds just outside the store. Kai's done first; he hadn't been actually hungry, of course, but he's developed a taste for human food. And now that he's been pulled away from the mysteries of the convenience store, he's ready to keep going.

"You've got a crumb stuck to your cheek," Tanuma says to Taki, leaning in to brush it away with a careful finger. Their faces are close and flushed as Tanuma lets his finger trail away and drift against Taki's other hand. 

"Thanks," she breathes.

"Let's _go_ ," Kai says, stamping his foot.

**

They're moving, it's true, but to Kai it seems like every few meters one of them stops and examines something: a tree, a shop, a stray cat. Will they ever get to his mountain?

"Look at this bookstore!" Almost before the words leave Taki's mouth she's halfway through the door.

Natsume and Tanuma share an amused glance. "She'll be in there all day if we're not careful," Tanuma says with a raised eyebrow.

Kai shifts. "We've still got a long way to go by human foot." 

Natsume says, "Sorry, Kai. But we can give her ten minutes, right?" 

Natsume and Tanuma beam at each other and prop themselves against the bookstore's front wall to wait, shoulders touching. Tanuma leans in and whispers something to Natsume. They chuckle quietly and then there's a moment where they just look at each other. Natsume's eyes dart down to the ground and then back up again, shy delight on his face when he sees that Tanuma is still right there. Kai finds himself holding his breath, not wanting to disturb them -- nothing in the world should disturb them -- but then Taki bursts out of the bookstore. 

"Nothing interesting," she reports. They give her lazy, relaxed smiles and push themselves away from the wall.

"Okay, let's get going," Kai says, hopping on one foot. It's almost lunchtime. They're supposed to be having lunch on his mountain, in his home. That's the plan. Whenever they get there.

**

"Here's where the shrine is." Kai stops short. It's not very high up: enough so the villagers had to work a little but not so far away to discourage them entirely. It's the gateway, of sorts, to his home. He'd been proud to show it to them. Eager, even. The clearing isn't huge, more of a temporary widening of the path as it meanders up and down the mountain. But now there's a carpet of last autumn's leaves making the space seem even smaller. Kai recognizes, from the convenience store earlier, some of the garbage strewn around: bottles, wrappers. "When they used to come and bring me things it was a lot nicer." He scowls.

"It just needs a little attention," Taki says, brushing some leaves off the top of the altar. The wood seems grayer, more worn than Kai remembers.

Tanuma says, "I wish we had a broom." He tries using a couple of fallen branches to clear the leaves away from in front of the altar. It doesn't work very well. He deposits the branches off to the side and tries sweeping the leaves with his foot, with slightly better results. Kai joins him; it's kind of fun, kicking old leaves. Natsume pulls out a plastic bag left over from their breakfast and starts picking up litter.

"Oh, you're cleaning up the old shrine. Isn't that nice?" comes a voice, and all four of them turn. There's a man there with a young boy. 

"Do you know this shrine?" Taki asks. She kneels down and says hello to the child, who grins at her.

The man gives a nod. "I used to come here with my mother when I was little. We left offerings for the water god. But it doesn't look like so many people come these days. It's good of you to take care of it." He stretches and considers the view. It's not the top of the mountain, not even close, but it's still impressive. "Look," he says, bending down to the boy and pointing. "See all the way down there? What do you think that is?" The boy waves his hand at whatever he sees. "It's our town! Look." He guides the boy's pointing hand. "There's where you go to school! Can you see it?" 

The boy squints and laughs. "Over there?" 

"Right here," the man says, adjusting the boy's arm.

They spend a few more minutes admiring the landscape. Then the man opens his backpack. "Here." He takes out an orange. "I don't know why I brought this. I guess in memory of my mother. It feels a bit silly, these days, but it doesn't hurt, right?" He sets the fruit gently down on the altar.

Natsume smiles at him. "I think that's a great idea. I'm sure the water god appreciates it."

The man nods at them as he and his son return to the town below. The four of them are silent until they've been gone for a good few minutes. Then Taki turns to Kai and grasps his hands. "Isn't that wonderful, Kai?" 

It isn't, really. Not compared to what he used to have: dozens of worshippers a day, reverent and hopeful. But the world's been changing, even if he can't always understand why. Maybe he has to be happy with one orange.

Natsume steps over and ruffles his hair. "I'm glad he saw us taking care of the shrine. Maybe he'll keep coming back."

Without being abandoned by the fickle humans, Kai never would've come down the mountain. He never would've met Natsume. He says, "You guys keep coming back too, okay?" 

As soon as the words leave his mouth, Kai feels shy, but Natsume's face lights up right away. "Yes, we will," Natsume says. Taki and Tanuma nod. 

A smile's spreading across Kai's face, slow and warm. "Good."

Until today, Kai's felt conflicted about the shrine: it's his, yes, but since it's been largely abandoned, returning the favor is tempting. But now that Natsume has taken care of it, he wants to claim it all.

They're just finishing tidying it when a few teenage boys saunter up. Kai hasn't spent much time here in months, but when he did, any visitors were more like the man and his son earlier: tugged by memory and some lingering sense of propriety and respect. 

These kids are carrying plastic bags. Kai can see bottles sticking out, and he connects it with the plastic caps that had been scattered around his shrine, now tied up with the rest of the rubbish to be thrown away. He glowers. 

Natsume hurries over with a nervous smile. "This is a beautiful place, isn't it?"

The first boy snorts. "Whatever." He turns to leave. 

One of his friends puts an arm out to stop him. "Wait. They're in our spot. This is ours." 

This is going to turn ugly. Kai's looking forward to it. These arrogant little humans -- he'll show them how to respect a god. "This is mine!" he bellows. 

The boys guffaw. "Yours?" One swaggers forward. "Show some respect." He gives Kai a little slap to the head. 

"Kai, no," Natsume yells, grabbing Kai by both shoulders. The older boy snickers, unaware that Kai would've sent him flying and that Natsume has very possibly saved his life.

"I think you'd better go." It's Tanuma; he seems to loom over them. He'd spoken quietly, but there's a strength in his voice that Kai's never seen from him before. 

"Look, let's just forget it," another of the boys says. "This is dumb. There's a whole mountain. We'll find another spot away from these idiots." He jerks his chin at them. 

Natsume's still holding onto Kai, and a good thing, too.

Glaring, the boys shuffle away, turning back a couple of times to sneer. Natsume pats Kai on the head, other hand firmly on his shoulder, until they're out of range.

"Wow," Taki says, turning to Tanuma. "That was great. You really managed to scare them."

Tanuma shrugs, the corners of his mouth twitching. "I just thought about how things were going to get really messy if someone didn't clear them out pretty quickly, that's all. I'm glad they thought I looked scary, I guess."

"Thanks." She places her hand on his arm for a moment. 

Natsume comes around the other side and does the same, his hand sliding down to touch Tanuma's. "Yes, thank you," Natsume tells him. 

All three of them are pink-faced. Kai's just a little tired of them all staring at each other and blushing so much, and he's cranky from those stupid boys. He opens his mouth to say something about both matters when Natsume picks up the bag of garbage they've collected and says, "Shall we go? We still haven't seen the rest of Kai's home."

Kai closes his mouth with an audible snap. Natsume's right. Natsume is pretty much always right, so maybe Kai can put up with the silly looks and the blushing. And maybe those jerks won't come back.

**

It's only an hour or so past lunchtime when they reach the part of the mountain Kai really considers his own. It's quieter up here; they don't run into any other humans. There's wind through the trees and that's about it as they settle down to eat. "Here," Natsume says, offering Kai an onigiri. "Touko-san made these."

As Kai chews -- it's good -- he feels peaceful. He hasn't felt this kind of contentment in a long time; it takes him a moment to recognize it, but it's appropriate that it happens here, in his home, with them.

There are places he doesn't show them. They're not forbidden -- not to him, at least -- but there are some youkai who wish Kai had stayed down in human lands. Kai's told them before that they either need to accept this is his mountain, and live here knowing that, or move on. Since they've done neither, he's going to take care of the problem. He doesn't need Natsume's help. In fact, he doesn't want Natsume to help, because that will just get complicated and Natsume will just get hurt. He's strong enough to resolve it alone.

But not today. Today Kai is sitting here, reaching for another one of Touko's onigiri, legs spread out on the blanket they've brought along. It's been gray and overcast all week; now the sky is still cloudy, but there's some brightness. Or maybe it's really just that the brightness is here with him.

They finish their lunch and Taki brings out cookies, a double batch for them to share. "They're not the best," she apologizes. "I think the oven at home needs to be repaired. So they're a little dry."

"I'm sure they're still delicious," Natsume says. He bites into one and the bottom half breaks off. Taki, sitting next to him, catches it before it can fall to the ground and tips it back into his mouth. She looks like she can't believe her own daring. Their eyes meet. Kai's never seen Natsume turn red so quickly.

"Hey, I want one, too." Tanuma leans over. He pulls a cookie out of the bag, breaks it in two, and holds out half to Natsume, who sputters wordlessly. Tanuma grins and says, "I'm waiting." He opens his mouth. Taki giggles as Natsume, still flushed, feeds it to him. Tanuma catches Natsume's hand after and they share a smile -- Tanuma's smile bolder than Natsume's.

"Your turn now, then," Natsume says, gesturing to Taki.

"I can eat my own cookies!" She puts her hand over her mouth and shakes her head. "That's too embarrassing." 

"Well, I'll eat them, but I'm definitely not letting anyone feed them to me," Kai grumbles, grabbing the bag.

**

"Let's go," Taki says, standing up and brushing off her lap once they've finished eating.

Tanuma checks his watch. "There's no need to hurry, is there?" 

"No. I just feel like walking. That's all right, isn't it?" She tilts her head up at him, lips pursed. In that pause, Kai can practically feel her thinking, wondering. Then she brushes her thumb lightly across Tanuma's chin. "Crumb." 

He catches her hand for a moment, just letting their fingers touch. "Thanks."

Natsume's watching, transfixed by the soft looks on their faces. Does he feel left out? Taki, as if she's heard Kai's thought, turns to Natsume. "You too!" She steps over to him and wipes his cheek. "You'd think you were children, both of you."

"You've got some crumbs too," Natsume objects. His hand trembles as he reaches over. "Is... is that okay?" 

"Yes." Taki's voice is quiet -- Kai has to strain to hear her -- but steady. "Thanks."

"And your hair," Tanuma says to her. "The wind," he explains, as he smooths it back.

The three of them are standing so close to each other, eyes shining.

"Okay, let's go," Kai yells. They jump apart and he feels a pinprick of guilt. He isn't mad. It's only the way they were looking at each other like no one else existed in the world. It's a little creepy.

Okay, it isn't creepy. It just makes Kai feel a little lonely.

**

Even while avoiding the places where the troublesome youkai live, there's a lot to show them. They stop at an ancient cedar tree. "There used to be a youkai that lived in here," Kai says, patting the trunk. "He was old when I knew him. I used to talk to him."

"Where did he go?" Taki asks.

Kai shrugs. "He just faded. One day he didn't have anyone left who believed in him."

"Oh," Natsume says, eyes damp. "I've seen that before. Does... does that always happen?"

Kai shakes his head and lets out a bark of a laugh. "Not always. Maybe if you're not as strong as I am. I think he was just ready to go. Don't worry, Natsume. I'm not going anywhere."

Taki sweeps him up in a hug. "I'm glad."

"Me too," Natsume says, and Kai can feel Natsume's arms linked around Taki's.

There's a hand placed on his head, about the only place left Tanuma can reach. Kai, face hidden in Taki's shoulder, wriggles: maybe it's too much joy to hold at once.

**

Natsume won't let him fly them back to the train station either, so they have to leave plenty of time to pick their way back down the mountain. There's more sunshine streaming out as the day begins to wane, but the temperature's starting to drop.

All of them are yawning by the time they reach the station, half an hour early. "Better than half an hour too late," Natsume says. Kai isn't sure; they'd have to spend the night if so.

Natsume sits on a bench, Tanuma and Taki on either side. "It's cold," Tanuma says. He looks carefully at Natsume and takes his arm, leaning into his shoulder. Natsume jumps a little and then settles back down. Taki snuggles in too. Natsume looks startled but pleased. They all close their eyes.

Kai looks at them. Together, they've got a light to them. Natsume deserves this -- they all do -- without question. Still, Kai is wistful, standing there on the outside. 

Then Taki opens her eyes and jerks her head up. "Kai!" she says, digging in her pocket. "I almost left with the rest of the cookies! That would be so rude!" She hands him the bag and pulls him into a hug. "We'll come see you again soon, okay? Or you visit us!" She beams at him.

Natsume drowsily says, "Yes, Kai, please come see us." Tanuma murmurs agreement. 

A grin streaks its way across Kai's face. "I will."


End file.
